


Rebels in Our Time

by callalily_flower



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Anxiety Attacks, Assault, Background Character Death, Blood, Fae & Fairies, Hospitals, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, it's not angst but it's also not not angst so..., probably gonna end up found family, who knows where it's going certainly not the author
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27749320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callalily_flower/pseuds/callalily_flower
Summary: Something is going on with the supernatural creatures of Seoul. Attacks of all species are becoming more frequent and the laws are making it increasingly difficult for anyone to get any kind of information.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Hong Jisoo | Joshua, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i originally started this bc i wanted vampire!jun and i haven't even written him into the fic yet
> 
> idk if there's going to be any archive warnings that apply but the tags will be changed accordingly. any depictions of violence aren't going to be graphic bc ~~i don't think i'm good at writing those types of scenes~~ i'm building my confidence in those scenes
> 
> this chapter contains physical assault and non-con in the sense of a character being attacked by a vampire and blood being forcibly taken (lmk if i should include that as a tag bc idk just gestures vaguely vampires)

“The fuck does that mean?”

Jeonghan’s boss looked up from her paperwork, “It means exactly what I said, you’re fired. Just because you don’t want someone touching you, doesn’t mean you can punch him,” She returns to her paperwork, “And in this line of work you don’t get a choice in who touches you.”

Jeonghan is speechless because yeah being a stripper isn’t the most glorious work, but he still expected his boss to care just a little for her employee’s comfort. “Fine,” he says. He storms off to gather his day clothes, avoiding eye contact with everyone. And if Jeonghan’s a petty bitch that takes the stage clothes he’s wearing, then so be it.

Wearing the stage clothes on his way home was likely not the smartest thing Jeonghan had ever done. He approaches the alley that functions as a shortcut rather than having to walk a block further to reach a larger street. He weighs his options and decides that the alley is worth it before continuing his walk.

Halfway down the alley he realizes the mistake he made. A body throws him into the wall and he feels breath on his neck and the strong scent of iron.

“You smell delicious,” the vampire rasps, licking the point of Jeonghan’s neck where blood flows closest to the surface. “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?”

“Fuck off,” Jeonghan hisses. “Just because the government knows about you doesn’t mean you can drink anyone’s blood. Consent is mandatory before you even break the skin.”

“Ah but there’s no blood magic stopping me.” Jeonghan feels the fangs ghosting along his neck, “No one is going to miss a whore like you. And if you’re dead…”

Panic sets in, Jeonghan is going to die and all he’s done is drop out of his med school to be a stripper and disappoint his mother. He tries to struggle out of the vampire's grip, but Jeonghan never was very strong, “I’ve always liked my meals afraid. The blood is pumping much faster.”

All he feels is a brief sharp pain, like his last tetanus shot, and then nothing. A few of his coworkers had said that vampire bites were like getting high, volunteering to be a blood donor once a month was lucrative, and now he knew that they were right. All his muscles relax and Jeonghan’s panic fades.

Along with the panic, his sense of time is gone as well. It could have been hours or seconds but however long it was, someone is pulling the vampire off him and a face appears in his vision.

“Hey, are you okay?” a hand starts applying pressure to Jeonghan’s neck, staunching the blood.

Jeonghan can’t focus and only looks dazed towards his rescuer.

“Jisoo,” the man calls. There must be someone else who helped him.

“Stop preying on humans in this alley, fuck off and go to a blood bank,” a voice says from afar before approaching, “What is it Cheol?”

“I don’t know how much blood he lost but now the bleeding won’t stop.”

“Here, let me see.” The second man, Jisoo, whom Jeonghan still hasn’t seen, pulls the first man’s hand away. “Motherfucker. He bit in the wrong spot,” The pressure returns to his neck.

“There’s a right spot to bite helpless humans?” Jeonghan slurs.

“There is if you want the human to survive.” Jeonghan thinks that is the first man, Cheol, again.

“He didn’t care about that.” Jeonghan blinks back the black spots invading his vision. “Said no one would miss me and I can’t bring charges if I’m dead.”

The second voice is back again, “Vampire saliva helps with the healing. Can I lick your neck?”

“If I say no?”

“You’ll probably die,” Cheol tells him, “I have a lot of your blood all over my hands.”

“Then do it.”

The pressure to Jeonghan’s neck disappears but is almost immediately replaced by a different, lighter pressure. After only a moment Jeonghan doesn’t feel blood running along his clavicle to his chest.

“That’s the best I can do. We should probably get him to a hospital now.” The presence in Jeonghan’s personal space disappears, but he still feels the bodies nearby.

“No. No hospital,” he grits out. “Just get me home. I’ll call one of my friends.”

“Um, no offense, but I don’t think your friend can help you with how much blood you’ve lost.”

“Cheol, if he wants to die in his apartment it’s his call.”

Jeonghan ignores the last comment and recites his address for the two to get him home. One of the two carries him while the other carries the stuff he dropped.

“What’s your door code?”

Jeonghan relays the four digits to Seungcheol.

He hears the click of a lock followed by, “Give him here, Jisoo. I’ll get him settled.”

“Don’t you have to get explicit permission to enter my house?” Jeonghan swore that was some of the blood magic and not just a law.

“Jisoo does. I’m just a human so I don’t.” Jisoo waits outside the door while Cheol helps him to the couch. “Where’s your phone? We can call your friend and when they get here, Jisoo and I will leave.”

Jeonghan is fighting sleep and he’s losing. “Should be in my bag. I think he’s speed dial 2. Wonwoo.”

“Jisoo, can he sleep?” Cheol calls out while the phone rings.

“If you want him to die before his friend gets here.” Is the response he gets.

“Hey. Dude, you can’t sleep. I don’t want your friend thinking I killed you.” There is a note of panic in his voice. “Fuck I don’t even know your name.”

Wonwoo must answer on the other end and Cheol goes silent for a moment. “Hey, I don’t know your friend’s name, but he said to call you.”

Wonwoo likely just woke up, “The fuck does he need that can’t wait until morning?”

Jeonghan is deathly white and still conscious but barely and he calls out to the phone, “Dying. Come mourn me and tell lies to my mother at my funeral.”

Wonwoo pauses, apparently having heard Jeonghan, “Give me 10 minutes,” and then the line clicks dead.

Cheol spends the next 7 minutes talking to Jeonghan to keep him awake. The door swings open, bringing in a man slightly taller than Cheol. He kicks his shoes off and walks towards Cheol and Jeonghan.

“I’m Wonwoo. You are?”

“Oh, Seungcheol. Jisoo is my boyfriend and he should be standing outside the door,” Seungcheol sticks out a hand to shake only to notice the dried blood all over them. “Fuck, sorry.” He pulls his hand back.

Wonwoo nods towards Jeonghan, “So what happened?”

Seungcheol quickly retells the part of the story he knows, explaining how they came across Jeonghan in the alley.

When the story is finished, Wonwoo shakes his head, “Jeonghan, you fucking idiot.”

“He refused the hospital. Jisoo sealed the wound but with the amount of blood he lost and it being the first time he’s experienced the high, I really think he should go,” Seungcheol says.

“I will not go to any damn hospital,” Jeonghan says, venom in his voice. “Wonwoo can patch me up just fine.”

Seungcheol opens his mouth only to be cut off by Wonwoo, “You know I hate using my blood magic to heal you.”

“And you know exactly why I refuse to step foot in any hospital,” Jeonghan counters.

Wonwoo caves and starts to rack his brain for the spell he needed, looking around the apartment. “It’s gonna be a bit cramped but I guess we’ll make it work. Can your boyfriend come help move furniture?”

“It’s up to Jeonghan.”

“I don’t want any vampire in here,” Jeonghan’s words are becoming more and more slurred.

Wonwoo groans, “Which do you want, vampire in your living room or you in the hospital?”

Jeonghan tries to glare in Wonwoo’s direction, eyes far too glassy to focus on anything. “Jisoo may enter to help tonight.”

Before Seungcheol can take a single step towards the door, it’s flying open, bringing Jisoo into the apartment.

“He’s starting to fade,” Jisoo warns.

Wonwoo is lifting Jeonghan off the couch and laying him down on the coffee table, “Move the couch to the wall then help me center the coffee table,” Once the table is centered in the room, Wonwoo starts drawing on the floor in chalk. “We have been cutting this way too close,” Wonwoo mutters, putting the chalk away and dusting off his hands. “You guys step back.” Wonwoo waves towards the kitchen then begins the spell, holding his hands over the edge of the pentagram and reciting the spell in Latin.

Nothing seems to be happening until suddenly it is. The chalk is glowing a faint maroon, bathing the entire room in the color. Wonwoo has his eyes closed and continues reciting. The glowing continues for several more minutes until it fades from the chalk, only for Jeonghan to start glowing the same faint maroon. After several more minutes, Wonwoo’s reciting is coming to an end and the glowing is fading again.

Once the faint glow is entirely gone, Wonwoo sways briefly before his legs give out. Jisoo is catching him before he can hit the ground.

Before Seungcheol can say anything, Jisoo’s eyes widen as he looks at Jeonghan, “What did you do? His heart is going strong and gives no indication of having almost stopped.”

Wonwoo gasps out, “Just created about 2 liters of blood directly in his bloodstream,” He continues to gasp as if he had just run a marathon, “Could you get me some water?” Jisoo lowers him to the floor and nods. “The human body has about 5 liters of blood. Losing upwards of 30% of that requires a transfusion and by my estimates, Jeonghan lost about 45-50% of his blood. I couldn’t replace it all, but it was enough that his body can replenish the rest on its own.”

Jisoo returns, holding out a glass. “Okay, but how did you do it?” Seungcheol asks. “And will he be waking up soon?”

Wonwoo reaches for the glass but before Jisoo hands it to him, he notices the boy's hands shaking.

“I’ll be back,” Jisoo takes the glass with him.

“My grandmother raised me after my parents died when I was 5. They were among the dissenters of letting vampires live alongside humans. Official reports say they died in a car crash,” Wonwoo starts to explain. “Not so officially, vampires tracked them down and did what our friend was going to do to Jeonghan. Anyway, my grandmother had known about vampires years before they emerged into the public eye. Her older brother was turned and after regaining control of the hunger, he came and lived with and protected her. She researched a lot into the different lore from around the world.”

Jisoo returns with a plastic water bottle with a straw through the top. “Thank you. By the time I came into her care, it was 50 years after her brother was turned and it only took her 20 years of studying to develop blood magic to counter vampires. Nothing to kill, just to help humans even the playing field. She started teaching me by the time I was 8.”

Jeonghan is starting to stir. Jisoo speaks up again, “So you aren’t a vampire,” he starts slowly, “but you have blood magic?”

Wonwoo shrugs, “Of a sort.”

Jeonghan slowly sits up, “Our friends call him a witch. And bless your grandmother 10 ways to next Tuesday,” he mumbles.

“How do you feel?” Seungcheol asks.

“Like I just donated blood.”

“Yeah, well, that’s kind of what you did,” Seungcheol responds.

“I’m crashing on your couch tonight. It’s the least you can do in return for me saving your sorry ass. Again.” Wonwoo starts dragging himself across the floor. “Jeonghan knows my whole story if you want to ask any other questions but I’m gonna sleep.”

Before anyone could say otherwise, Wonwoo was out cold on the couch.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Seungcheol asks Jeonghan nervously.

“He’ll be fine,” Jeonghan assures.

“What did he mean again?” Jisoo is looking skeptical.

Jeonghan opens his mouth to explain when a harsh knock cuts him off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no fucking clue where this is going so i'm open to suggestions but it's been living in my wips for like three years and i suddenly wanted to post things that aren't finished in hopes that i'll figure out where it's going. comments and kudos give me ~~validation~~ inspiration to continue writing
> 
> hit me up on [twitter](https://twitter.com/tigercalla) if you want, it's not very coherent and there's a lot of mdzs content bc i actually barely know how to use it but i'm working on it
> 
> anyway, i have like another chapter and a half written but also finals exist and i have a paper to write that i've been putting off bc of who i am as a person. once dec 12 gets here the semester will be over and my stress will be ~~gone~~ less. if you see me posting stuff before then, no you didn't
> 
> ps i didn't write any of this today instead of studying. not that i studied today but this fic wasn't the reason it didn't happen


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finals are over and i am free from ~~hell~~ law school for the next month and a half so after some self care and minimal editing here's chapter 2

Jeonghan glares in the direction of the door, swearing under his breath, “I thought we would have more time. Here, Jisoo, you get in the closet there.”

Seungcheol and Jisoo both look strangely at Jeonghan until the knock comes again, “Jeonghan! I know you’re in there!”

“Please, I can’t explain right now, but I will.”

Jisoo shrugs and steps into the closet, pulling the door closed behind him. Seungcheol looks at Jeonghan, muttering under his breath, “You better have a damn good explanation.”

“As long as we make it through this, I’ll explain everything,” Jeonghan mutters before opening the door. “Hey, Hansol. Mingyu.”

“Where’s Wonwoo?” the taller of the two immediately asks, shoving his way past Jeonghan. “He left without saying anything.”

Hansol gives Jeonghan a look, “Care to explain why Wonwoo would do that?”

Jeonghan knows that Hansol probably already knows the basics of his encounter, being one of the few employees in the Supernatural Beings Division of the police, he’s probably already been to the alley where Jeonghan was attacked.

“I got attacked on my way back from work. Seungcheol was passing by and helped me get home and call Wonwoo.” Jeonghan gestures towards Seungcheol standing behind him. “Wonwoo’s asleep on the couch now,” he adds for Mingyu’s benefit.

Hansol and Mingyu notice the last person standing there. Mingyu seems torn between meeting the new person and checking on Wonwoo. He shifts on his feet until Hansol nudges him, “Go check on your man.”

Mingyu doesn’t need any further encouragement as he darts into the living room from the entryway. “Care to explain further, Jeonghan? Or do I need to make this an official visit and force it out of you?”

“Official visit…?” Seungcheol looks between the two men.

“Hansol here,” Jeonghan sighs, “is one of the, what are there, six of you, in the Supernatural Beings Division."

“Five now,” Hansol interrupts, pulling out his badge to show Seungcheol, “Hosung was killed last week,”

“Hosung was killed?” Jeonghan asks, “I actually liked him. He wasn’t too bad as far as government employees go.”

“That’s because he was always flirting with you. You were saying,” Hansol prompts, waving his hand for Jeonghan to continue.

Jeonghan starts to explain, starting with his firing. Seungcheol notices a few details being changed, namely Jisoo’s presence and the few important things that were affected by him.

Before Hansol can say anything else, Mingyu rejoins them in the entryway, “He’s asleep, exhausted from the blood magic he did,” A glare is sent Jeonghan’s way.

“It’s not like I asked to be attacked.”

“You could suck it up and go to a hospital?” Jeonghan visibly flinches back at that.

“That’s enough,” Hansol cuts in with a glare at Mingyu, “Could you pick the vamp who attacked you out in a lineup?” Hansol turns back to Jeonghan.

Jeonghan is shaking his head when Seungcheol speaks up, “I could.”

Mingyu looks at him suspiciously but says nothing. “How do I get a hold of you when the lineup is together?” Hansol is straight to business, “Also just a quick description of him? I got one from people in the vicinity of the alley before Mingyu called me but I want to be thorough.”

“Jeonghan has my contact information. If you want to contact him, he can get a hold of me,” Seungcheol explains before giving a quick description of the vampire.

“Works for me,” Hansol shrugs, “Let’s go, Mingyu. Wonwoo is fine here tonight and I want to get _some_ sleep before the duty call rolls back around to me again. This was technically supposed to be Hyejung’s call.”

Mingyu pouts but follows Hansol with no complaints. He stops at the door for a moment and glances back, “Something in the living room smells off. You might want to get that checked out.”

Jeonghan nods and waves the two off, shutting the door before letting out a sigh of relief.

Jisoo steps out of the closet, “He could smell me?”

Jeonghan nods, “Mingyu is a werewolf. He probably whined until Hansol agreed to come check with me, since he’s not technically supposed to leave his place after dark. I was counting on Seungcheol’s scent covering up most of it. Since you two are boyfriends, you smell like each other.”

“What about his hearing?”

“He’s recently turned so Hansol told him to work on one sense at a time and he chose smell first. With our conversation going on, he would have to _really_ focus if he wanted to hear something quiet, like breathing or a heartbeat.” As an afterthought, Jeonghan continues, “Wonwoo’s blood magic messes with scents and with all my blood, it’s amazing he picked anything up at all. With all that interference, I’m not surprised you couldn’t tell he was a werewolf.”

“‘Hansol told him?’” Jisoo frowns, “What happened to the person who turned him? Or I thought the SBD assigns mentors in those situations.”

“Ah, well,” Jeonghan winces, “It was a matter of moving at the same time. Mingyu was only defending himself, the werewolf bit him just before Mingyu could get out of range. As for the mentors,” Jeonghan shrugs, “I think werewolves are a bit weirder about that than vampires are.”

The two are staring at Jeonghan in shock, “Are you telling me that Mingyu killed a werewolf as a human?”

Jeonghan shrugs, “It was an accident and part of it was because he had made his ringtone for Wonwoo as a really high-pitched tone. It was to annoy him and Wonwoo just happened to call at the right time. He got in a lucky shot with the tent stake he found.”

“It feels wrong to call any part of that ‘lucky’ but there’s no other way to describe it,” Seungcheol says, “But why couldn’t Jisoo just stay out here with us? And why did you leave him out of the story?”

“Werewolves don’t get along with vampires very well, as you know,” he gestures to Jisoo who nods, “and Mingyu carries a grudge from when he was a human, so it’s worse. Wonwoo’s blood magic already freaks him out enough, which is probably why Wonwoo didn’t tell him where he was going. If he could see and smell you, he would know you were a vampire. And you’ve probably met Hansol at some point so even if Mingyu didn’t know, Hansol would.”

Seungcheol sends a guilty look towards his boyfriend. Jisoo starts explaining, “We weren’t just ‘passing by’ that alley. Fringe vamps and baby vamps whose makers abandoned them are often in that alley preying on humans.”

“So, what? You guys are vigilantes?”

Seungcheol looks like he wants to protest before he sighs, “I guess you could say that. The SBD doesn’t want humans dealing with rogues on their own. Vampires are still allowed to fight out their battles between themselves but the blood magic doesn’t let them interrupt another feeding. As a pair, we’re technically legal but it wouldn’t hold up in court.”

“Because vampire-human relationships aren’t legal,” Jeonghan mumbles.

“Neither are werewolf-human relationships,” Jisoo counters, obviously referencing Wonwoo and Mingyu.

“They were dating before Mingyu was turned, which was only a couple months ago, and we were all friends before it happened. Because of that, as long as they’re discreet, Hansol is willing to turn a blind eye,” A scowl crosses Jisoo’s face, “Don’t give me that look, I’m aware it’s corrupt. It’s a dumb law either way.”

“Okay,” Seungcheol prompts Jeonghan, “Wonwoo saving you again?”

“I had been looking for Hansol when he was on duty and I was attacked by a rogue. It was the middle of a street but no one else was around. Hansol found me and staked the rogue. He called Wonwoo and it was much the same as what happened tonight. The rogue hadn’t gotten near as much blood but I was bleeding the entire trip to Wonwoo’s place.”

“What is your issue with hospitals?” Seungcheol asks, leaning across the counter to peer at Jeonghan. “Your dislike isn’t something that just happens because of a little thing.”

A spike of panic shoots through him, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Jisoo frowns at that, probably hearing his heart rate spike, “Is it something that actually happened to you? Or was it something you saw reported?”

“It’s perfectly reasonable to not want to go to a hospital after what happened four years ago.” Jeonghan bites back.

Jisoo holds up his hands, conceding the point, when Seungcheol cuts in, “What happened four years ago?”

“Do you remember the massacre at Severance Hospital?” Jisoo watches Jeonghan flinch as the vampire asks his boyfriend.

“Vaguely. I didn’t pay much attention to the news then.”

“There was a rogue vampire attack,” Jisoo explains, “At least five working together. I was still a baby, just turned a few months before, but my master knew them. She probably agreed and would have joined them had I not needed constant attention.”

“They attacked a hospital?!”

“No,” Jeonghan can talk about this part, sufficiently removed from the beginnings of the incident, “The rogues attacked a shopping center nearby. Lots of teenagers and young families. I’m not sure if they were stopped or if they ran off to escape. Severance was the closest so everyone who was still breathing was transported there.”

Jisoo nods, “There were so many bodies that the paramedics must have gotten careless. Several who weren’t breathing made it to the hospital, a few even made it to emergency rooms. Then the baby vamps started waking up in ERs.”

Seungcheol’s face lost the last little bit of color that was still on it, “A baby surrounded by all that blood.” His voice gets small when he asks, “Do you think it was an accident?”

“It was no accident,” Jisoo says darkly, “It’s not easy to turn someone by accident. To turn their victims, they need to be drained as well as receive some of the vampire’s blood. Not a lot is needed. I’ve seen victims turned from barely a drop on their tongue. I’m sure you know how important intent is in magic, especially blood magic,” Jisoo glances at Jeonghan, “Turning someone is part of the blood magic and they have to drain their victims with the intent to turn them. The rogues wanted a mass panic at the hospital.”

“How did they eventually take down the baby vamps?” Seungcheol looks between the two.

Jisoo shrugs, unaware beyond the attack and Jeonghan clenches his fists in his lap, trying to stop their shaking, “I think they brought in vampires to subdue the baby vamps that made it to Severance but it was still a massacre before they got there. So, yeah, not really thrilled to go to a hospital after seeing the aftermath of a massacre at one. What’s to stop it from happening again?”

Jisoo is giving Jeonghan a skeptical look, probably able to hear Jeonghan’s half truths. Maybe his heart is racing enough that there isn’t any difference between the truth and lies. He disguises his full body shiver with a yawn, glancing at the clock. He thinks it’s late enough to be considered early at this point.

“We should get going,” Seungcheol says, “Glad to see you surviving the night.”

“Night isn’t over yet,” Jisoo mutters.

Seungcheol sticks out his tongue at the back of his boyfriend’s head, “Anyway, you got a pen laying around somewhere?”

Jeonghan digs out a pen for Seungcheol to write his note and starts cleaning up Wonwoo’s sigils from the floor. Seungcheol calls out a goodbye and Jeonghan hears the door shut and lock. He lets out a breath he had been holding for who knows how long.

Jeonghan longs to crawl into bed and sleep for a solid 36 hours, stopped by a scolding voice in his head that sounds suspiciously Wonwoo. The voice lectures on the dangers of leaving sigils and arrays active with no one paying attention. Latent energy in the air or something. The voice almost sounds smug; you almost die, you get to clean up.

Only after scrubbing Wonwoo’s work from the floor does Jeonghan crawl into bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if y'all have ideas abt regulations abt supernaturals for this pls let me know. i've got a few but my brain is tired from finals and i would appreciate some help ~~i hit send on my final paper last night and i was ready to cry at how shitty it got at the end but it was done~~
> 
> anyway, two weeks is probably gonna be my update schedule but idk life is crazy and time is fake
> 
> it wasn't til i was looking at the draft but ACAB. hansol is like cop-adjacent but i have plans so yeah


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter a day late but it's here. i think there was more i wanted to say but it has been forgotten so it is likely unimportant i guess

Jeonghan wakes up much earlier than he wanted and Wonwoo is already gone, leaving a note in the kitchen for Jeonghan. He skims the note, finding the usual empty threats that Wonwoo wouldn’t help him the next time, before crumpling it up and throwing it back on the counter. Held to the fridge by a magnet is another slip of paper, this one with the names “Choi Seungcheol” and “Hong Jisoo” each followed by their own phone number. Beneath the phone numbers there is a note to contact them if he ever needs help with a vampire again. The handwriting changes and Jeonghan assumes it’s Jisoo that included the postscript about covering his tentatively healed neck. Even though Jisoo had sealed the wounds, the skin was still thin and healing and wounds sealed via vampire saliva had the tendency to reopen, smaller but reopened wounds nonetheless.

Reaching up, Jeonghan finds one of the punctures bleeding sluggishly.

Mid-morning finds Jeonghan wandering into Soonyoung’s bookstore.

The man looks up and his face lights up upon seeing Jeonghan, “Jeonghan! What brings you here?”

Jeonghan shrugs. Soonyoung had offered a job to Jeonghan at his bookstore ever since he first opened. He knew if he told his friend that he was fired, Soonyoung would immediately drag him behind the counter to start paperwork.

Soonyoung, unfortunately, notices something else on Jeonghan which brings him barreling out from behind the counter, “What the fuck happened?”

Jeonghan had forgotten about the bandages he had placed on his neck. Most people he passed on the street didn’t offer a second glance, making the easy assumption that he was a donor.

As Jeonghan is grasping for an explanation, the bell over the door rings, bringing in two men about their age.

“Hey, Soonyoung!” one of them calls out, both waving to Soonyoung, before they disappear between shelves.

Soonyoung pulls Jeonghan towards the counter, grabbing a stool to sit Jeonghan on while he peels back the bandages. Jeonghan can’t see the wounds, his only reference being Soonyoung’s face, which isn’t entirely helpful due to an unchanging glare. As he feels the bandage pull back farther, Jeonghan feels two trails of blood down his neck to his collarbone, telling him that both of the punctures have reopened now.

Soonyoung grabs several tissues to clean up the trail before replacing the bandage.

“Dude,” Jeonghan doesn’t recognize the voice that had broken the silence, “you need to talk to the bank you donate at because that is _not_ where vamps are supposed to bite.”

Soonyoung continues to glare at Jeonghan’s neck while he responds, as if he can heal the punctures by sheer force of will. “We don’t donate, Seokmin.” Soonyoung looks up at Jeonghan’s face, “What happened?”

“It’s nothing, Soonyoung. I’m fine.”

“ _That_ is not ‘nothing.’ Do _not_ make me call Hansol.” Soonyoung threatens. “You know I hate having to talk to him about vampires.”

Seokmin makes what sounds like a noise of confusion before another voice cuts it, “Mind your own business, Seokmin.”

“God, fine, now get your bony elbow out of my side.” Seokmin hisses back to his companion.

“I wish you would stop using that to make me feel guilty,” Jeonghan grumbles.

Soonyoung simply raises an eyebrow, waiting for Jeonghan’s explanation. “Fine. I got fired and then instead of staying on the main streets to get home, I took an alley shortcut. A rogue attacked me.”

“And?”

“What do you mean ‘and?’” Seokmin can’t seem to keep his curiosity to himself. “That seems a pretty effective explanation.”

Jeonghan looks at the two men, Seokmin leaning on the counter, invested in the story, and his companion back a few paces with his face in his hands, mumbling something to himself in Mandarin.

Soonyoung turns away from Jeonghan, “Because he and I both have issues with hospitals so I know for a fact he didn’t go there and like you said, that’s not where they’re supposed to bite. So how the fuck are you still alive?” Soonyoung turns back to Jeonghan for his question. 

Vampires and werewolves had been the first reveals, but shortly after, supernatural beings were coming out of the woodwork. Faeries, pixies, and sprites (which were three distinct beings despite their similarities; faeries got especially pissy about the distinction), witches, banshees, and even a few ghosts began popping up and becoming common knowledge.

Despite that fact, telling random people that your friend was a witch was still kind of frowned upon.

Soonyoung had found out about Wonwoo’s magic shortly after the first time Jeonghan had been attacked on the street, but sometimes he forgot about the fact that it exists. Most people were of the opinion that supernatural beings were all well and good, but I don’t want to know if you or one of your friends are one.

Luckily, Seokmin cocked his head to the side, “You were saved by a witch, weren’t you?” his companion groans while Seokmin continues, “There’s this weird energy I couldn’t figure out when we walked in but the closer I got to you the more…” he gestures vaguely, “…focused, I guess, it got.”

“We just found this great bookstore and now you’re gonna get us run out. Seokmin, not everyone is chill with you just casually revealing that you’re a witch.”

“Like you aren’t also a witch. Plus, I’m like 90% sure the energy I’m sensing is that of a witch.”

“That’s it! I’m going home and I’m going to burn all of your tarot cards. Crush up your crystals for my potions.”

Seokmin flinches, “Now Minghao, let's not be hasty.”

Soonyoung and Jeonghan exchange a glance while they watch the two bicker. Minghao does look ready to storm out and light something on fire, so Jeonghan interrupts before it gets out of hand.

“Yeah.” Seokmin and Minghao both look at Jeonghan in surprise. “My friend is a witch. His grandmother developed a blood-based magic based on vampire magic and taught him.”

Minghao frowns, “Wait, she ‘developed’ a blood-based magic?”

“Developed, invented, created.” Jeonghan shrugs, “Any of those terms work.”

Minghao looks ready to start grilling Jeonghan about Wonwoo’s magic but Soonyoung interrupts.

“Alright, so Wonwoo saved you with his magic, but that doesn’t explain how you survived long enough for him to get to you.” Soonyoung refuses to look away from Jeonghan, “Applying pressure to this wound would slow the bleeding but you would still be losing a lot of blood. First of all, Wonwoo getting to you in time before you died of blood loss is really slim chances and Hansol would have had to have found you as the rogue bit you and called Wonwoo immediately. If that didn’t happen, which I’m positive it didn’t, you would have bled out by the time Wonwoo arrived. Second, the skin looks like it healed but reopened. I know for a fact that Wonwoo doesn’t seal broken skin. You know, something about us being dumb enough to need him to bring us back from the edge of death so we deserve to keep bleeding a little. So please, explain how you aren’t dead.”

“How is it you’ve been out of the medical field for four years and you still remember all the shit you learned?” Jeonghan mutters to himself. “Fine, but you can’t tell Hansol about most of this.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widened, they never hid any supernatural occurrences from Hansol. Mostly because he knew about them as soon as they happened so there never was much of a chance to do so.

Jeonghan doesn’t continue until Soonyoung nods, “Okay, so two guys, Seungcheol and Jisoo, saved me from the rogue. I was really out of it and Seungcheol was keeping pressure on the wound while Jisoo scared the rogue off.” Jeonghan can feel the confusion from the other three men. “Jisoo is a vampire and Seungcheol is human. It’s in the blood magic that vamps can’t interrupt a feeding, like how they have to get permission to enter your home, but humans don’t have that restriction. The law doesn’t care if a human wants to interrupt a feeding, the only reason humans usually don’t is because they are likely to be bitten after that. ‘Cause, you know, yeah the law says they need to get permission first but plenty of them don’t give two fucks about that law. So Seungcheol interrupting the feeding was legal and Jisoo fighting off the rogue was chill with the blood magic, but they’re boyfriends and the law is most definitely _not_ chill with that.”

Soonyoung makes a small noise of understanding as Jeonghan continues, “Seungcheol was concerned that the bleeding wasn’t stopping and so Jisoo saw that he bit the wrong spot and after asking, he made use of the healing properties of vampire saliva to seal the wound. They got me home and called Wonwoo. Wonwoo left without telling Mingyu because you know how Wonwoo’s magic makes Mingyu ansty.” Jeonghan sees Seokmin and Minghao flinch in his peripheral, “Apparently I was almost dead by the time Wonwoo got there and he created a bunch of blood right in my bloodstream.”

“I’m guessing Mingyu begged Hansol to take him to your place?” Soonyoung asks.

“That’s the only explanation I’ve got,” Jeonghan throws his hands up, “because I was going to explain to Jisoo and Seungcheol some of the cryptic shit Wonwoo said before passing out but we got interrupted and I had Jisoo hide in the closet until they left.” Jeonghan frowns to himself as he remembers something, “Oh, and Mingyu’s nose is getting stronger. He could smell something off, which would have been Jisoo in the closet, when my living room reeked of my blood and Wonwoo’s magic.”

“Fuck,” Soonyoung mutters, “Won’t be able to hide shit from him for much longer.”

“So they finally leave and I explain Mingyu and Wonwoo and Hansol and some of the cryptic shit and right now Seungcheol’s number is on my fridge so I can let him know when Hansol needs him to pick the rogue out in a line up.” Soonyoung nods, accepting the story that he got from Jeonghan.

Minghao and Seokmin are heavily invested in the story by now, both leaning on the counter.

“I have questions,” Seokmin starts. “If I ask them, are you gonna avoid them? Because if you are, then I won’t ask and I’ll just remain curious.”

“Which means,” Minghao cuts in, “he’ll focus on them for the next 3 months and just ask me randomly throughout the day what I think.”

Jeonghan nods, “That depends, ask away and we’ll see.”

Soonyoung scoffs, “You make me drag the information out like pulling teeth but Seokmin and Minghao, who you’ve known for less than 20 minutes just get answers? The betrayal.”

“First,” Seokmin pauses, “Mingyu?”

“Recently turned werewolf.”

“Dating Wonwoo?” At Jeonghan’s nod his brow furrows, “Okay, Hansol?”

“Employee in the SBD. There’s only five of them in the city so if you have ever had to deal with the SBD, you’ve probably met him.”

“Ah,” Soonyoung interrupts, “I thought there were six, did someone else die?.”

Jeonghan nods, “He told me last night Hosung was killed last week.”

“Damn he was pretty tolerable as far as government employees go,” Soonyoung muses.

“That’s what I said!”

“Okay but how is it that Hansol didn’t know where you were bitten was the wrong spot?” Seokmin asks. “I know that. You guys know that.”

Soonyoung chuckles, “Hansol is generally very clueless about most things. He’s really smart when it comes to anything supernatural and the different species and their rules, but any sort of science and he doesn’t know shit.”

Minghao stops Seokmin before he asks another question, “I have a question. What did Jeonghan mean when he mentioned you being out of the medical field for four years?” He looks to Soonyoung. “Also how did you know that it was the wrong spot? I didn’t know that either and I know Seokmin knows because he used to be a donor.”

The non-witches exchange looks and Jeonghan notices Soonyoung’s hand shaking where it rests on Jeonghan’s knee.

Minghao holds his hands up as if backing off, “Question you won’t answer. Got it.”

“Why didn’t you go to a hospital?” Seokmin asks, “An ambulance has to have been faster than walking to your apartment.”

“We just don’t like them,” Soonyoung answers simply.

“Wonwoo had to threaten me with the hospital last night,” Jeonghan muses. “I didn’t want to let Jisoo into my apartment so he told me it was either a vampire in my apartment or me in the hospital. Vampire in my apartment or me dead probably would have been more accurate.”

Soonyoung nods, “Hate both of those options but hate the hospital option more.”

“It’s probably just Jisoo,” Jeonghan taps his chin, “but it honestly wasn’t _terrible_ having him in my apartment. Like, he didn’t say much so I didn’t have to see the flash of fangs as he was talking.”

Soonyoung nods as Jeonghan talks, handing him a pen and sliding some paper in front of him. Jeonghan, caught up in his thoughts, starts filling the forms out absentmindedly.

“Can I meet your witch friend sometime?” Minghao asks, “My focus is potions and compounds but I want to see if I can strengthen some of my potions with runes during the brewing process. Also diversifying never hurt anyone”

Jeonghan nods, “I can ask him. Honestly, you might have met him before, he spends so much time here.” It is only as he is signing the bottom of the form that Jeonghan realizes what the form is, “Really, Soonyoung?”

“He literally put it in front of you and didn’t say anything,” Minghao is looking on in awe, “You did everything yourself.” He turns to Soonyoung, “Is that a Jeonghan thing or do you think it will work on Seokmin when I have to put in an order from the specialty store for his crystals.”

Soonyoung shrugs, “I wasn’t sure it would work. I think the key is to be casual and not draw attention to the form.”

Jeonghan sighs, “Well, I was out of a job and it won’t be terrible to work with you, I guess.”

Soonyoung makes a noise in his throat and puts on an air of fake offense, “Excuse you! I am a delight!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: this chapter has mentions of severe illness and hospitalization. if you want to skip it, i'll put where it starts in the end notes and also a quick summary. 
> 
> so time isn't real and i didn't actually realize it was almost three weeks at this point. i had plans to do 2 chapters this weekend to make up for it but i have a draft for a paper due on monday that i forgot about so that's a little yikes at this point. point being, there might be another chapter by monday but i don't know due to poor time management skills and inability to work under anything but last minute panic.
> 
> also i needed more characters so nu'est is going to start making appearances

It only takes three days for Wonwoo to walk into the bookstore while Jeonghan is working.

“I’m gonna be seeing you a lot more, aren’t I?”

Jeonghan shrugs, “Probably.”

Wonwoo doesn’t say anything else, glancing at the display near the door before he hides away in the fiction section.

Jeonghan puts out the new arrivals that just arrived and continues to familiarize himself with the sections. By the time he meanders back to the counter, Wonwoo is emerging from where he was hidden in the shelves.

“Did you tell Mingyu what happened?” Jeonghan leans on the counter, curiously.

“Are you asking if I told him about Jisoo?” Jeonghan’s silence answers Wonwoo’s question better than words, “Yeah, I did. I’m not going to keep secrets from him.”

Jeonghan nods, “I wouldn’t ask you to. I asked Soonyoung not to tell Hansol but I expected you to tell Mingyu.”

“You do know Mingyu is gonna let it slip to Hansol, right?” Wonwoo asks, “I love him but he does not have a filter.”

Jeonghan groans at the realization.

“Why _did_ you hide Jisoo? Hansol is going to have to know eventually.”

“I panicked. I think I lost my brain cell with all the blood.”

“Since when have you had a brain cell?” Wonwoo ribs playfully.

“Soonyoung is probably holding onto it for me,” Jeonghan smiles.

Wonwoo outright laughs, “I love Soonyoung, but honestly, I think _you’re_ holding _his_ brain cell. Or Hansol is holding both of yours.”

Soonyoung comes out of the office brandishing a ruler at the two of them, “I’d argue but you’re probably right.”

Only minutes later, Hansol is walking into the store and Jeonghan is wincing, “Chances Mingyu told Hansol already?”

Wonwoo glances at Hansol and the determination in his walk, “Most definitely,” Wonwoo claps a hand on Jeonghan’s shoulder before heading for the door, “Good luck. Hope you find your brain cell.”

Hansol leans on the counter, “So let’s cut to the chase.”

“I panicked. There was a lot of adrenaline and it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Figured that much out myself,” Hansol smirks, “I was gonna ask who the vamp with Seungcheol was. Since, you know, I know the name of every vamp in the city.”

“How many are there?” Soonyoung leans in curiously.

Hansol responds without missing a beat, “You don’t want to know.”

Soonyoung pauses, then nods, “Fair.”

Hansol silently prompts Jeonghan to share.

“Hong Jisoo.”

Hansol takes a moment, brow furrowing as he is thinking, “He’s still pretty young, turned four years ago.”

Jeonghan raises an eyebrow, “You know that off the top of your head?”

“His master was a pain in the ass until she got staked after attacking and nearly draining a teenager. We try to keep an eye on those turned by the difficult ones, in case they follow in their master’s steps. He was the off smell Mingyu picked up, wasn't he?”

Jeonghan straightens up, “I am _still_ amazed he picked that out. Like, Seungcheol and Jisoo are boyfriends so they smell like each other and then you combine that with all of my blood and Wonwoo’s magic?”

“Oh,” Hansol’s expression slides into an unreadable neutral one.

Jeonghan plays back what he said and he freezes, “Fuck, right, that’s why I kept it secret.”

“Jeonghan,” Hansol pleads, “I _have_ to report this. You know I do.”

“What about Wonwoo and Mingyu?”

Hansol twitches, “Extenuating circumstances.”

“Hypocrisy is what it is!” Soonyoung startles them both with his interruption, “Hansol, if you really cared about that law, you would have reported Wonwoo and Mingyu. Jisoo and Seungcheol _saved Jeonghan’s life_. And them dating is the only law they’re breaking. Jisoo isn’t breaking his blood magic laws and Seungcheol isn’t breaking any human laws”

“They’re vigilantes.”

“They’re the _only_ reason I’m alive today.”

“That can’t possibly–”

“Hansol,” Soonyoung cuts him off, “Jisoo sealed the wound before they took him home. If he _hadn’t_ , Jeonghan would have bled out in minutes. Wonwoo wouldn’t have been able to do what he did if Jeonghan was already dead.”

“He would have _what?_ ”

Soonyoung begins explaining the medical basis behind it until Hansol’s eyes start to glaze over.

“Got it,” he cuts in, “I’ve got enough in my head already, I don’t need all that medical information.”

“You would have had more questions that night if you did know this,” Jeonghan frowns, “Why didn’t you have any questions about the sealed wounds?”

“Didn’t Wonwoo do that? That’s what I assumed.”

Soonyoung snorts, “Well, I did just say that Jisoo sealed it. But Wonwoo doesn’t seal wounds. At least not completely. He thinks that if we’re dumb enough to get close enough to dying that we need him to save us, well, we deserve at least a little of the suffering of a healing wound.”

“Vampire saliva isn’t some miracle to open wounds, though” Jeonghan answers the next question before Hansol can ask it, gesturing towards the bandages still on his neck, “It probably works great if only a small amount of blood is taken and you pass out right after. They carried me home and all that moving around probably didn’t help. Then Wonwoo just created a lot of blood, that normally would have been replaced more slowly, all at once. The skin was still thin and reopened.”

Hansol nods in understanding then winces, “Mingyu _does_ feel bad about what he said. He wants to apologize in person but with the upcoming full moon, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to for another week or so and he didn’t want to wait that long.”

Soonyoung glances at Jeonghan, trying to remember if he had been told any specifics like that.

“It’s fine. He was worried about Wonwoo and all the latent energy in the air was probably making him twitchy,” Jeonghan waves off.

Hansol glares and almost doesn’t deign that with a response, “It’s really not. Yeah he was worried, but he knows not to cross that line.”

“Wait, what did he say?”

“It’s noth–” Jeonghan starts before Hansol cuts him off.

“Wonwoo was exhausted from his magic and Mingyu was obviously blaming Jeonghan for that, which was fair. Jeonghan defended himself that he didn’t ask to be attacked.” Hansol takes a discreet step away from them while Jeonghan braces himself, “Then Mingyu said that Jeonghan could ‘suck it up and go to a hospital.’”

“He said _what?!_ He better hope he doesn’t see me after the full moon because I’m going to kill him. I don’t care how exhausted he is.” Soonyoung fumes and mutters under his breath. “Does Wonwoo know?”

Hansol’s face remains wary, “...I don’t think so.”

“He didn’t act like he knew when he was here earlier,” Jeonghan mumbles, “He would have definitely tried to apologize for Mingyu.”

Soonyoung is already pulling out his phone to text Wonwoo. The anger is still radiating off him when he puts his phone away and Jeonghan and Hansol direct the conversation elsewhere.

“God, Hosung was only one person but he still did so much. Plus, he was the most involved with managing the faeries, sprites, and pixies. We almost lost Yongsu when a faerie got pissy about his laissez faire attitude towards the distinction.”

“Yongsu is a dick and he deserves it,” Soonyoung mutters.

“You may be right but don’t tell anyone I said that,” Hansol rolls his eyes. “We can’t afford to lose anyone else right now though. Turnover for the SBD is really high so there aren’t too many applications.”

“Aren’t sprites and pixies like, 6 inches tall? And faeries are, you know,” Jeonghan gestures between the three of them, “normal sized?”

Hansol sighs, “Yeah, and pixies and sprites are a hell of a lot nicer. Faeries are pretty particular about language. If we hadn’t been conditioned into introducing ourselves as ‘you may call me,’ I don’t think any of us would have our names any more.”

Minghao walks in and waves to Jeonghan and Soonyoung before he freezes. Hansol turns to see who they had been waving to and Minghao visibly pales.

Hansol inclines his head in greeting towards Minghao, then gestures for him to join them. Head hanging, Minghao crosses the store to join them around the register.

“Hey, Agent Chwe.”

“Xu Minghao,” Hansol nods, “how have you been?”

“I’ve been good. It’s been quiet for the past few months so I’ve been doing a lot of reading.”

Jeonghan and Soonyoung are watching the pair like a tennis match, trying to decipher what history they have.

“SBD likes quiet from you,” Hansol nods his head sideways towards Jeonghan and Soonyoung, “Have you been coming here long?”

“Seokmin found it about a month ago after the last bookstore started giving us nasty looks,” he clarifies upon seeing Hansol’s face darken, “Not because of me! Well, kind of because of me, but not that way. Seokmin let it slip that we’re witches and the owners didn’t like that.”

Soonyoung cracks before Jeonghan, “Can I ask what’s going on?”

“There have been a few incidents that Minghao has been associated with. He’s not supposed to be experimenting with potions for six months. He’s still got two left,” Hansol glances at his watch, “I’ve gotta get going. Let Seungcheol know that we have a line-up next week on Wednesday morning.”

“Will do. Should Jisoo come?”

Hansol raises an eyebrow.

“Dumb question, got it. I’ll let him know, though.”

As soon as Hansol is out the door Soonyoung turns on Minghao, “Explain.”

“What about when Seokmin asked about Hansol the other day?”

“I was hoping it was someone else,” Minghao fidgets, “You weren’t paying attention but I’m pretty sure I flinched when you explained. And Seokmin doesn’t actually know the agent who is in charge of my case.”

“Would you care to explain what your case is?”

“Well, four months ago, I was experimenting and it blew up.”

“There’s gotta be more to the story than that.”

Minghao finds the ground extremely interesting, “It blew up a full city block,” he mumbles. “No one was hurt!” he rushes to explain, “Well, besides me, but I deserved it. It was the middle of the night so the businesses all got destroyed but no one was there.”

Soonyoung frowns, “Is there more to the story?”

“They found my notes. For a different experiment where the goal was an explosion, but a much smaller one. About,” he holds his hands in front of him mapping a space about the size of a beach ball, “this big and mostly harmless. SBD thought that was the experiment I was conducting and they forbade any experimenting for six months. My cauldron blew up and I haven’t been allowed to buy a new one of decent quality, so it’s really more of a complete ban on being a witch for six months.”

“Minghao,” Jeonghan levels him with a flat stare, “You came in yesterday absolutely _reeking_ of sulphur.”

“I may or may not have told half-truths to my friend Jonghyun so I could use his cauldron,” Minghao twitches a little defensively, “It was our store that blew up. Seokmin would do tarot readings and sell crystals and the teen girls always fell over themselves for him to talk about their auras. I sold some of the basic brews and a few of my own creation. Nothing dangerous. A lot of them were medicinal. There was one that made it impossible to kill a plant from neglect. Some were protective but that’s as complex as it got for the common people. I worked with some other witches to create the more complex things but those were by commission only and for witches.

“My point,” Minghao sighs, “is that not only did I get my brewing privileges revoked for six months, they took away the land that our store had been on. Seokmin has been doing readings out of the apartment but it’s weird and we don’t like it, but word has traveled pretty far and most proprietors don’t want us as a neighbor.”

“Seokmin can do readings here,” Soonyoung says, likely without any thought, “We can figure out the space later, when he’s here.”

Minghao slumps against the counter, “Oh my gods,” he mumbles, “if he does readings here, then I can brew in the apartment. I’ll leave the complex stuff for someone else’s cauldron but I can do the medicinal stuff at home.”

“Why can’t you brew at home when he does readings there?”

“The energy floating through the air around the cauldron becomes dangerous for humans when I’m brewing. My workshop in the old store had wards that managed the energy but I can’t make them small enough for a single room of the apartment, but I _can_ make them small enough for the apartment.” Minghao explains.

“Didn’t you _just_ say you have a brewing ban and no cauldron?”

“I have a few smaller, low quality ones that I can use for the medicinal brews. I really want to get another really nice one but that won’t be until I can find somewhere to brew the more complex stuff.”

“What were you brewing with your friend’s cauldron?”

“Still nothing dangerous,” Minghao twiddles his thumbs, “There’s a girl, Hana, who used to come in with her sister about once a week. Her sister always asked Seokmin about how he became a witch and where he learned it all. We’re pretty sure she wanted to learn from him, but she never outright asked.”

“SBD only has a few regulations on witches,” Jeonghan’s brow furrows, “Isn’t one of them that only family can pass along knowledge of witchcraft? And even then, they have to report what has been taught.”

“They’ve been developing more in the recent months,” Minghao nods, “It’s usually something that runs in the family. You can, okay well humans can’t, but supernaturals can, sense the energy around other supernaturals. She didn’t have any latent energy that would allow her to become a witch, even if Seokmin could legally teach her and wanted to.”

“Did you have a point with this story?”

“I’m getting there,” Minghao waves, “So Hana really liked to see the colorful potions I would brew. She always asked about the strangest things and if it was possible to make a potion that would fulfill it. The hair dye type questions were easy but then she asked if there was one to change the color of a patch of grass or if there were any potions that could be set out like an air freshener and have the fumes kill all the bacteria and viruses in the room? I had figured out the grass one and I wanted to show it to her the next time her sister came in.”

“But her sister didn’t come?”

“No, her sister did. But Hana didn’t,” Minghao fiddles with the plastic ring on his pinky, “She had developed a rare disease that the doctors couldn’t figure out. It was progressing super fast and they weren’t sure how much longer she had. So her older sister’s first instinct was to come to the witches she had been frequenting for months.

“But she’s a mundane,” Jeonghan and Soonyoung share a look. The SBD didn’t like the term for some reason but it’s what witches had been calling humans for centuries, “so the laws limit what I’m allowed to give her, the basic medicinal brews only, which I _knew_ wouldn’t help. So I gave her sister something for her own anxiety and something that would ease Hana’s pain, both of which are allowed. I had her describe the symptoms of Hana’s disease and she actually had a blood sample and blood test results for me, including the hospital vampire’s opinion. I told her to come back in three days.”

“You just took the blood sample and blood test with no questions how she got it?” Soonyoung asks skeptically.

“I’m pretty sure it was illegal and I was already going to do something worse so it didn’t matter.” Minghao shrugs.

Jeonghan thinks he knows where the story is going and his chest tightens.

“It took me all three days, and it was only hours before she was supposed to come in when I finished. I had written it all down, because I was pretty sure it wasn’t a permanent fix after only one try,” a smile breaks his face, “Not two days later, she comes back in tears, saying that it was a miracle and the doctors couldn’t find any hint of the disease. Hana still couldn’t leave the hospital, but she could go to the gardens so I gave her sister the color changing grass potion and instructions as well as my number. In case anything went wrong and the disease came back.”

“It came back regularly, didn’t it?” Soonyoung asks, probably remembering a case from when he was a resident.

“About once a month. I had Mirae, that’s the older sister, send me the blood test results again, just so I knew it wasn’t changing, and I made the potion for her to pick up in two days,” Minghao’s face gets even sadder, “You know why we aren’t supposed to give mundanes anything more than the basic medicinal stuff?”

Jeonghan and Soonyoung shake their heads, “Hansol specializes in werewolves and vampires so we only ever hear about them.”

“Not that the SBD knows much about witches anyway,” Minghao grumbles before explaining, “If it’s not specially prepared for a mundane, the latent energy could kill them. And I mean, tailored for a _single_ mundane. This cure was good for Hana and Hana only. I told Mirae all of this,” Minghao shrugs, “The doctors caught her giving Hana the potion about eight months ago. She had already taken it so there was nothing they could do but they tried to scare her into thinking that I was being reckless.

“She came to me a few days after, worried about what the doctors had said so I explained it all to her. I was tailoring the potion for her sister only. If anyone else took it, they would die, but not Hana,” Minghao has taken up pacing along the counter, “At the end of the month she still got the next dose and I thought we were out of the woods. The doctors believed her fearful enough not to try again and she got more secretive about giving it to Hana. The next month, just as Hana was getting bad again, I got the message from Mirae as usual and prepared it for her. I had a witch-commissioned brew as well so I stayed up to make that one after finishing Hana’s and that was the night of the explosion. SBD had been keeping an eye on Mirae and they broke in to stop me. In order to protect the agents that crossed the wards of my workshop, I had to sabotage the brew, which resulted in the explosion. I knew they wouldn’t survive the energy but the explosion could have gone either way. I gave Hana’s brew to Seokmin, thank god for shatterproof bottles, and texted Mirae where to meet him. Then the ban hit me. For the explosion and for dosing a mundane with high level brews.”

“So you’re making Hana’s brew?”

“Yeah. Mirae has a little storage locker and I put it there for her to pick up.” Minghao’s sadness suddenly disappears for anger, “None of this is my fault though! That explosion saved the lives of the SBD agents. The sulphur smell doesn’t mean dangerous, it just means high level and more complex. And high level doesn’t mean it’s inherently dangerous. It’s just more dangerous if you fuck up the brewing.”

“The hospital vampire is a real one,” Soonyoung mutters, “I guarantee they can sense the energy on her and they _know_ she’s still getting your brew.”

Minghao nods, “One month I had to sneak in and give it to her myself, Mirae was sick and couldn’t risk getting Hana sick as well. The vampire caught me but instead of turning me in, he told me that the doctors were so confused but a few were making progress to a more permanent cure. One that wasn’t magic.”

“So what does Jonghyun know about your brew?”

“That it’s a commission for someone who’s really sick. Seokmin is the only other person who knows who it’s for.”

Soonyoung nods, “Make sure Seokmin swings by sometime soon. We can talk about what he needs for space.” A customer approaches the counter and Minghao leaves, probably to pass along the offer to Seokmin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when jeonghan and soonyoung are getting minghao's backstory, starting with "But her sister didn't come?" and all the way to the end of the chapter focuses a lot on a cancer-like illness of a young girl. to summarize: minghao can't brew high level potions bc he was illegally making one for a mundane. he was working on a different high level potion when sbd came to detain him for that and so he sabatoged it to make sure no one died from the latent energy, resulting in the blowing up of a city block.
> 
> i hope you enjoyed the chapter and any feedback you have would be lovely to hear. when i get the notif that someone left kudos or a comment i want y'all to know that i absolutely take a non-zero amount of time to cry bc i love u
> 
> bc of how i write i think i had around 20k words written when i first wrote this part and it took me that long to realize i may or may not be writing a big ole allegory on racism so i guess there it is. stay safe and take care of yourselves
> 
> ~~now i'm gonna lie to myself about productivity and think abt jurassic park, star trek, mcu, or any combination of the three bc those accidentally became hyperfixations again~~


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